Observations of post tsunami reconnaissance investigations along eastern coastal tract of India following the devastating tsunami of 26th December 2004

Abstract

Many coastal regions of India were affected by the tsunami caused by a magnitude 9 earthquake off Sumatra on 26th December 2004. This report presents the observations of post-tsunami reconnaissance survey conducted by the National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, India, along the most affected coastal stretch of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and southern Andhra Pradesh. The surveyed coastal tract is about 450 km long and lies between Vedaranyam (Tamil Nadu) in the south and Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) in the north. The objective of the study was to observe and document the readily available and perishable data, which contains information about the nature and impact of the phenomenon. This information is expected to be helpful for planning, preparedness and identifying further research needs.